This application is based on and claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of German Patent Application 199 60 738.9, filed on Dec. 16, 1999, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a mounting for attaching a rudder to a missile, particularly a guided missile driven by a ramjet and carried by an aircraft. A rudder blade is mounted to a rudder shaft which in turn is secured to an interface fitting referred to as a xe2x80x9cmountingxe2x80x9d attachable to the missile body. The rudder blade is turnable by a rudder actuating lever.
German Patent Publication DE 196 35 847 C2 describes a mounting as mentioned above. Power for operating the rudder actuating lever is transmitted from a power source through a coupling rod with a bearing at each end of the rod. The available space is not used efficiently and conventional thermal stress characteristics and mechanical stress characteristics leave room for improvement. Similar considerations apply with regard to reloading the same aircraft with missiles, particularly different missile types.
German Patent Publication DE 34 41 534 C2 discloses a bearing for a rudder blade of a guided flying body that is launched from a firing tube. The rudder is mounted in the tail end of the flying body, whereby the mounting requires a seal for protecting the rudder bearing against propulsion gases. The sealing pressure is adjustable by set screws. Such a mounting is not suitable for connecting a rudder to a missile carried by an aircraft.
Modern combat aircraft carry medium range guided missiles mainly in a partially recessed arrangement in the fuselage to reduce air drag and to favorably influence the radar signature of the combat aircraft.
The shape or configuration of the airplane missile interface where the missile or rocket is mounted to the aircraft is determined by the currently accepted air to air guided missile known as AMRAAM. The configuration of the AMRAAM rudder mounting was also used in the prototypes of the EF 2000 Euro fighter aircraft. For mounting the missile or rocket to the aircraft slotted recesses 41 mm wide are provided in the airplane fuselage for accepting the rudder and wings of the AMRAAM missile when the missiles are mounted to the aircraft.
In a case of AMRAAM trailing missiles driven by a ramjet, the rudder must be mounted outside the missile body because the interior is almost completely taken up by the ramjet combustor or combustion chamber. This requirement generally leads to a voluminous mounting outside of the missile body that may be incompatible with the aircraft interface determined by the AMRAAM missile.
It is not sufficient to place the missile rudder contact free in the 41 mm wide recess of the aircraft fuselage. The required minimum free space of several millimeters between the aircraft body and the rocket or missile must be maintained on all sides between the rudder and the wall of the recess.
The desire for using exchangeable ramjet driven missiles on the same aircraft interface is therefore problematic in conventional rudder mounting configurations.
In view of the above it is the aim of the invention to achieve the following objects singly or in combination:
to provide a rudder mounting for attaching a rudder to an aircraft borne missile, particularly a guided missile that fulfils the spatial requirements while simultaneously efficiently taking up the mechanical and thermal stresses that arise at cruising speeds of Mach IV;
to make sure that the minimal spacing between the slot walls in the aircraft body and the missile or rocket is maintained at all times;
to provide a rudder to rocket mounting interface that permits quick reloading of missiles even under adverse field conditions;
to permit quick reloading even when using exchangeable different rockets or missiles;
to permit mounting the rocket rudder to the missile by using standard tools and even under adverse field conditions; and
to construct a missile rudder mounting in such a way that bending loads at the rudder connecting point of the mounting are reduced or even minimized.
The mounting for attaching a rudder to a missile according to the invention is characterized by an interface fitting simply referred as xe2x80x9cmountingxe2x80x9d including a base plate for securing the rudder to the missile. The mounting further comprises a bearing socket secured to the base plate. The bearing socket has a conical cavity with a small cavity diameter next to the base plate and a large cavity diameter at a socket outer end facing the rudder. The mounting further includes a rudder shaft for rotatably securing the rudder through the socket to the base plate. The rudder shaft has a conical rudder shaft section having a small cone diameter next to the base plate and a large cone diameter next to the socket outer end. The conical rudder shaft section is rotatably received in the conical cavity, whereby the conical rudder shaft section and the conical cavity taper toward the base plate. Bearings are mounted in the socket and rotatably hold the conical rudder shaft section in the conical cavity of the socket.
A radially outer end of the rudder shaft for holding a rudder blade is provided with a fork configuration having two prongs forming a gap in which a blade foot of the rudder is mounted. The radially outer end of the rudder shaft formed by the two prongs is preferably also conical.
The outer configuration of the bearing socket is at least partially cylindrical and has such an outer diameter that it fits with the required all around spacing into the above-mentioned slot in an aircraft carrying the missile.